Dessert, Pretty Please

Dessert, Pretty Please! The Pretty Please Bakeshop is in the Food Bermuda Triangle near my house over by Clement Street. I call it the FBT because it's such a seductive area with a resto or cafe (or ice cream, or desserts!) in every other storefront that you can get lost (and fat) there for hours. I braved the unknown and stopped in to this bakeshop to pick up a box of goodies for a friend's birthday. We were meeting at a bar and I thought these little bits of celebration would be perfect, plus give me an excuse to check out a new bakery a bit closer to home. (Schuberts always sucks me in).

I bought four kinds of twinkies and a carrot cupcake (for the birthday girl). Red Velvet, Spice cake, Banana Choco and plain Choco. They were all glazed, though the two twinks with Choco had a chocolate spread over the top as well. Our favorites were between the spice cake and chocolate banana. The carrot cupcake was moist with a nice frosting on top, not too sweet.

Pretty Please Bakeshop brings an imaginative eye to all their desserts!

Traditional chocolate Twinkie, filled on the inside!

Sundays are Happy Hour at the bakeshop from 4-5, which means you can BOGO your desserts. Who can resist that?! The Pretty Please Bakeshop has a lot more than twinks to offer because they are into seasonal personal pies, lots of cupcake flavors plus any Bay Area sports team event serves as inspiration. Not to mention macaroons, frosted cookies, pudding cups, cake parfaits and probably anything you can request! They also make intriguing, inspired and well-executed cakes here. I stole some pictures off their facebook page of ones I like the best. I am trying to think of a theme event that I could order a shaped cake for...if I get one, I'll for sure update this page!

 

 

 Yes, those are all CAKE! Pretty awesome cakes from Pretty Please Bakeshop. I remember my Mom made me some shaped Birthday cakes when I was a kid. I think there was a clown? Maybe a bunny? What shape would you get for a special cake?

*remember I stole the cake photos from the PPB facebook page! Check them out.

Melt-ing for Chocolate in North Beach

Several years ago, Angela made Melt a SF Bay Area Chocolate Meetup destination. We had a good group turn out, about 8 people, I think? Which was perfect for sharing cheese fondue and then still having room for dessert. Which was their classic chocolate fondue, of course. (This was also the Meetup where co-blogger Mel and I met for the first time!) Melt is in North Beach, just past Washington Square Park. They are easy to find, right on the corner and you may even hear live music flowing out the main door to welcome you.

Happy Hour/live music.

Al fresco people watching.

Welcome to Melt!

J.K. and I have ventured back again and again to fulfill our Chocolate Fondue Craving. Melt has very reasonable prices and great portion sizes. We debated for a while on the lunch part of our meal, and ended up trying something different. Normally we get a cheese fondue, but Angela really wanted to try their French Onion Soup (perhaps Cook the Book was on her mind-Around the French Table?) and so we paired the soup with the cheese plate plus pate. Actually you can customize their cheese plate several ways, by your choice of how many/what kinds of cheese, plus adding a meat protein (or not). This plate also comes with fruit (grapes and sliced strawberries this time) plus delish toasted bread.

Brie wedges, Goat Cheese coin and Pate chunk. Served with fruit and crispy hot bread.

French Onion Soup with extra bread and butter on the side. Carb heaven.

Our chocolate fondue came with a plate of goodies to dip in the melted goodness. Strawberries, bananas, mini (frozen) creampuffs, salty pretzel sticks, mini cookies, cheesecake, and crunchy wafer cookies. Their menu says this dessert serves 2-4 Chocoholics. We've shared it with others before, out of politeness and friendship, but there are no holds barred when it's just the two of us. So anyone who looks in the window of Melt and then walks up to our table thinking they can get a dip in our fondue pot may just get a fork in the hand instead! The chocolate fondue is thick, rich and very dark, a perfect complement to the fruit and sweets brought out with the small pot. Fondue note: Don't let it burn! If your cheese or chocolate starts to get too hot, just blow out your tea light. Then continue to eat until your bowl is empty.

Natures sweets vs. bakers sweets. Both delish when dipped in chocolate.

The virgin fondue.

Get your fork in there!

This would be a perfect preshow happy hour snack, as both Cobb's Comedy and Bimbo's 365 Club are near.

Melt Cafe has a calm cool cafe vibe, although when the jazz  combo (or other musicians) start jammin' it gets more lively. They also have a lot of opportunities for community engagement such as board games, open mic night, fondue and film night plus free wifi for customers (so come get your work on some afternoon). The staff is personable and ready to make a recommendation if you're not sure about a beverage or meal.

This cafe has an open kitchen.

Small tables easy to push together for a crowd!

Everything is fun with beer and board games.

A window with a view at Melt.

Just next door from Melt Cafe is a truffle shop. Angela always forgets it's hidden there, but it's worth a quick stop. We didn't get the coffee with free truffle from XOXtruffles. Instead, we chose a box to go. Two of each kind, we split them later (of course J.K. always has an emergency ziplock in her purse). J.K. was intrigued by the article in window from Chocolatier Magazine and quizzed the worker about their connection. These one bite truffles were flavorful, almost too easy to eat for a late evening snack. Going, going, gone.

Get your chocolate fix to go.

Many flavors of truffles made in the Rustic style from XOX truffles.

Do you stumble across a cafe or restaurant and think, "How could I not know about this place?" Or maybe, "Haven't I been here before, but we must have forgotten about it?" For Tea Time, there are food places we can't stop thinking about such as Nojo's or Lovejoy's or Absinthe. They are sometimes places we've been again and again or sometimes places that we want to try. However, there are the cafes and restaurants we have eaten at that had good food but in a city like SF where there are so many amazing places to eat they get forgotten. Now we can't forget about XOXtruffles again. We'll remember, oh yes, it's right by North Beach Fondue. Next to Melt!

Charles Chocolates in the Mission / Posted by J.K.

I had sponsored Charles Chocolates, which has re-opened on Florida Street in the Mission, on Kickstarter, and it was time to stop by and pick up my "perk." I received a shopping bag stuffed with a sampling of the chocolates, and we took a close look at everything in the shop.

The new shop is a little out of the way (much more convenient than Emeryville, though!) but well worth the trip.

My loot–minus the bar Angela absconded with.

 

The label explains what's in the box, and lists the ingredients

There are large displays of individual chocolates and bars to choose from, and prepared packages for those who can't make up their minds.

  

  

Having just had dinner at Mission Bowling Club, Angela and I were ready for dessert. Everything in the pastry case looked tasty,

but we couldn't resist this huge piece of chocolate cake. It's big enough for three normal people; however, we had no leftovers. This cake is so gorgeous I have to show it to you both in shade and sunlight. The store's outdoors seating wasn't in place yet, so we went down the street to a coffee shop, which didn't object to us sitting down outside with our cake.

Cake in the shade

Cake in sunlight

We highly recommend this cake. I usually prefer my own baking, but this is excellent!

Dandelion Chocolate Factory and Cafe

Dandelion Chocolate has finally moved into its new building at 740 Valencia Street. Right now there's a limited retail section, but there will be a Cafe soon! Tea Time is looking forward to spending many happy hours slurping hot chocolate and eating pastries in this beautiful, new, convenient location. The factory is on the premises, so you can see chocolate bars being made and there won't be any delivery problems.

UPDATE:  The cafe is now open, serving several choices of hot chocolate, a shake made from the pulp of the cacao pod and scrumptious desserts made by their in-house pastry chef. Plus you can watch Dandelion  chocolate bars being made while lingering over your dessert. All the hot chocolate drinks are served with a mini-madeleine and the housemade marshmallows are self-service, next to the sugar cubes.

 

Don't ya'll worry, they've still got the coffee too.

Picture from the first visit, when it was quiet.

Angela's choice of  European Drinking Chocolate.

We couldn't resist this little brownie, topped with sweet, crispy rice to go with our chocolate drinks. We asked the proprietor if they'll be serving more hearty fare, but he said that since they are surrounded by amazing savory places (like Craftsman and Wolves, or Mission Cheese) up and down Valencia, that Dandelion will continue to excel in its niche of specialty chocolates. So it seems likely that the dessert menu will expand and/or change over time, and you'll know that if you just want to slip in to get a chocolate fix the best time to avoid a line is noontime. Angela can't wait to go and try their citrus-y 'green' cocoa drink. It's made from the unroasted cacao beans. She's tasted them once before, straight from the tree, at the Original Hawaiiian Chocolate Factory. So different from the roasted beans!

Brownie, ready for its close-up.

Self-serve marshmallows--they disappear quickly!

J.K.'s American hot chocolate

Angela bought a bag of roasted cocoa beans to take home

Display wall offering tastes of the three regional chocolates

Close-up of cacao pods on display and for sale!

Beans being sorted, bags and bags of beans behind them.

The whole chocolate making operation is visible.

Pastries are in a case next to the cashier, making them hard to resist